Leaders face another weekend in limbo

Winston Peters
Winston Peters

National and Labour will be made to sweat until at least Monday while they wait for New Zealand First to decide on whom to support in a coalition government.

National leader Bill English will stay in Wellington over the weekend, but Labour leader Jacinda Ardern is heading home to Auckland.

After a week of negotiation talks with each party, Winston Peters has confirmed his party board would meet MPs in Wellington on Monday.

A decision would be made at that meeting and announced as soon as possible, Mr Peters said.

Board members had booked to stay Monday night if the meeting stretched on.

However, Mr Peters indicated getting an agreement should not take too long.

‘‘We know time’s of the essence. . . If we’ve done enough work, the consideration that happens on Monday should take far less than the time we’re doing [with the work] we’re involved with now,’’ he said.

‘‘That includes doing the fiscals as far as we can go and making sure that we will have a very clear idea of what we need to inquire of the other parties to make sure there is no doubt as to the sum of our discussions.’’

It is likely public departments such as Treasury are now involved in checking costings used in negotiations, a process that is allowed under the Cabinet Manual.

A National spokeswoman said: ‘‘Our offices will be in contact as necessary.’’

Ms Ardern arrived at Parliament yesterday saying only that Labour had a process it would follow.

Labour needs the support of NZ First and the Green Party to form a Government, but is negotiating separate agreements with each party.

It had wanted the Greens formally on board before Mr Peters and his team make their final decision, so they can guarantee they have the numbers.

The Greens have been on standby to conduct a special meeting of delegates via teleconference to get the at least 7% accord needed to sign off the agreement.

Greens leader James Shaw said on Thursday they would prefer a coalition deal to a confidence and supply arrangement, but ‘‘we’ve just got to see how things go’’. 

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